


Do You Think Pigeons Have Feelings?

by LockWhoSuper



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4145325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LockWhoSuper/pseuds/LockWhoSuper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Ask me again if pigeons have feelings, I dare you!'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Do You Think Pigeons Have Feelings?

**Author's Note:**

> Authors notes- This is my first Merlin fan fiction so sorry if Merlin and Arthur are OOC. Also, this is inspired by a prompt I found on Tumblr "ask me again if pigeons have feelings, I dare you!" Oh and sorry if there are any mistakes, like spelling because this was finished and edited and 1 am. Thanks for reading :)
> 
> Disclaimer- Merlin is not mine and I don't own anything, nor am I making any money from this.

"Have you seen my highlighter?" Merlin mumbled around a marker in his mouth, he didn't even bother to look up, he just held his hand out expectantly. Being mildly distracted by the passage of text he was studying, it took Merlin a solid minute of having his hand sticking out towards Arthur to realize that he still didn't have his highlighter, nor had Arthur said anything in quite some time. "Arthur?" He finally raised his head, his black bangs flopping on his forehead. 

 

Searching the room for his best friend, Merlin's eyes landed on an odd looking lump covered in texts books to his left. Stifling a slightly hysterical laugh due to tiredness, he shoved his fist into his mouth, kicked at the Arthur shaped lump and grinned when the text books fell away revealing his grumpy friend. 

 

"Mer-lin!" Arthur pouted. "I was asleep." 

 

Merlin just rolled his eyes. "You snore when you sleep so I know you weren't! You're just slacking off, come on Arthur, our final is in three days. We _have_ to get this down by then." 

 

"I know, I know." Arthur grumbled, crossing his legs he spread the textbooks he was using as a blanket on the floor in front of him and opened the one closest to him. 

 

"Arthur." Merlin said a moment later. All Merlin got in reply was a quiet grunt and Merlin couldn't help but grin again. "Your book is upside down." 

 

"It is not!" Arthur retorted, cheeks slightly reddening. "It's uh, a new studying technique!" Merlin chuckled and shook his head. With an expasturated sigh, Arthur closed the text book and lay on the floor. Pooling his head in his arms he groaned. "I'm tired Merlin, can't we stop now?" 

 

"No, not yet. I calculated that we can afford to stop studying at 1 am, if we drink _two_ cups of coffee in the morning and skip the scheduled--" 

 

"Merlin," Arthur interrupted. "It's 3 am." 

 

Merlin blinked at his friend in confusion. "No..." He whispered to himself. "It can't possibly be-- _Oh._ " Arthur smirked smuggly before pressing his face against the floor of Merlin's bedroom and closing his eyes. "I guess it is kind of late..." Merlin said, considering the piles of study notes in front of him. 

 

"Yes it is." Arthur agreed from his place on the floor. "I still need to go home." He added with a groan. 

 

"Don't be a prat, you can just stay here." Merlin cheered and pushed his lanky frame off of his floor. "Sleep over!" His voice rang out and Arthur covered his ears with his hands. 

 

"I don't think your mother would appreciate being woken up from your childish screeching at _3 am_ , Merlin, and neither would I!" 

 

"Aw," Merlin cooed his voice. "Does his royal prattyness need his beauty sleep?" 

 

Taking his position on the floor to his advantage, Arthur reached out and grabbed Merlin's thin ankles and pulled, quite literally knocking Merlin off his feet. 

 

Merlin tripped to the floor with a thud and an angered "hey!" Arthur held his sides as he laughed and dubbed the text book to his face as totally worth it, _just_ to see the carpet burn on Merlin's forehead. When he'd finished laughing, Arthur yawned into the crook of his elbow and pulled himself up into sitting position. 

 

"Ugh." 

 

"What?" Merlin asked disinterested, he was busy getting back to his feet. 

 

"I seriously need to brush my teeth. I'm going to use your toothbrush--" 

 

"Race you to the bathroom!" Merlin screamed and took off out of his bedroom and down the hall. Arthur was soon close behind, only taking a second to scramble to his feet. Bumping each others shoulders and shoving their way down Merlin's hallway, they made slow progress and Arthur ended up crossing the threshold one foot in front of Merlin. 

 

Arthur laughed in triumph and snatched Merlin's toothbrush before Merlin could reach it. With Merlin watching distastefully, Arthur made sure to brush his tongue as well as his teeth. 

 

"You're disgusting." Merlin said when Arthur spat into the sink and rinsed his mouth out. 

 

"Ah yes, but you love me anyways." Merlin's ears turned a lovely shade of pink and he just shook his head, stealing his toothbrush back and washing the bristles thoroughly before using it himself. 

 

"You know..." Arthur started slowly. Merlin looked at him pointedly in the mirror and raised an eyebrow. 

 

"We just technically kissed." Inhaling suddenly, Merlin choked on his mouthful of toothpaste and ended up spraying foam all over the mirror. Arthur just grinned, eyes sparkling and slapped Merlin on the back between his shoulder blades, rubbing along his spine a few times until Merlin got his breath back. Merlin shot daggers at Arthur's reflection in the mirror through the foam and Arthur laughed, tilting his head back as his shoulders shook. 

 

Spitting and rising with a little more force than necessary, Arthur just kept on laughing until Merlin slapped a pale hand over Arthur's lips and walked them back to his bedroom. With a childish glint in his eyes, Arthur licked the palm of Merlin's hand. Pulling his hand back like he got burnt, Merlin let out a whispered "ewwww" and wiped his hand on the back of Arthur's shirt, sparking another idea in him. 

 

"You can't go to sleep wearing those clothes." Arthur wiped his eyes from laughing so hard and questioningly looked down at what he was wearing. 

 

"What's wrong with my clothes?" He inquired with a raised eyebrow. 

 

"Arthur, you're wearing jeans. Hang on," Merlin bounced past their papers on his floor and opened his wardrobe. "I'm sure I have something that will fit you." Filtering through his shirts, Merlin would pull one by one off of it's hanger, examine it, say "nope", then toss it behind him. This went on until he found the red shirt he was looking for. Holding it up to his chest, Merlin pivoted to face Arthur, a smile splitting his face. 

 

"Do you remember when you gave me this?" He says breathlessly and hopeful. 

 

Arthur just laughs warmly and takes the shirt from Merlin's hands. "It's my old football Jersey. I can't believe you still have this." Merlin just flushes and shruggs and averts his eyes when Arthur pulls his current shirt over his head and tugs on Merlin's. 

 

"It still fits!" He belts surprised and Merlin flicks his eyes back to Arthur and giggles. 

 

"Barley." He says and tugs on the tight material pulling across Arthur's chest. Arthur just slaps Merlin's hands away. 

 

"Shut up you idiot, can we go to sleep now?" 

 

"Aw," Merlin mocks again. "No you can't, I still need to give you some pants to sleep in. I wonder if I still have..." Merlin trails off, muttering to himself as he moves to scrounge around in his underwear draw. 

 

"You're not going to make me wear the-- Oh no, no no no." 

 

"Yes!" Merlin hisses, ignoring Arthur's cries of horror as he holds up the bright pink boxes Arthur had gifted Merlin for his birthday last year as a joke. 

 

"Anything but those." Arthur pleads. But Merlin's persistent and truly there isn't anything else that would have fit Arthur anyway. So Arthur relents, and soon he finds himself wearing the bright pink boxers while Merlin takes one million photos. It only takes a second for Merlin to get dressed himself, choosing to wear a thin cotton v-neck to bed and his boxers with the dragons on them. 

 

"Just make yourself at home." Merlin grumbles when he turns and finds Arthur already climbing into his bed. Arthur's face is a bright shade of red, but Merlin doesn't ask about it because he assumes he's still embarrassed about the bright pink boxers. Unknown to Merlin, Arthur was just unable to tear his eyes away from Merlin dressing himself for bed. 

 

"Top and tail, Merlin? Seriously?" Arthur's propped up on his elbows, watching Merlin climb over his legs so he can sleep by the wall. 

 

"Yes." Merlin says simply, but he can't resist adding "it's so I won't have to smell your breath in the morning." Arthur sticks his feet in Merlin's face and Merlin's too busy laughing to complain. Lowering his head back to one of Merlin's pillows, Arthur exhales, his shoulders losing the days tension and his eyelids droop in anticipation of sleep. 

 

"Goodnight, Merlin." Arthur whispers into the dark room when Merlin turns out the light. 

 

Merlin blinks into the darkness and tries to not think about Arthur's thigh pressed hotly against his own. "Goodnight, Arthur." He whispers back after a short silence and soon he's left awake while Arthur slips off into unconsciousness. Forcing his own eyes closed, Merlin counts Arthur's breaths and fidgets under his blanket. 

 

Gasping with a sudden thought, Merlin squeezes Arthur's calf under the blanket and shakes. "Arthur? Arthur?" He insists until Arthur's mumbling a tired "what?" 

 

"I _need_ to ask you something." 

 

"What is it Merlin?" 

 

"Do you think Pigeons have feelings?" 

 

There's an almost inaudible groan from Arthur. "I don't know Merlin. Probably? They are living things after all." He mutters. 

 

Merlin gasps again. "Does that mean trees have feelings too?" 

 

"Mer-lin." 

 

"Right," Merlin shuffles under the blanket, letting go of Arthur's calf. "Sorry." He whispers, but Arthur's already fallen back to sleep and doesn't hear the apology. 

 

Five minutes later, Merlin's shaking Arthur awake again. "You know how Matt Murdock sees a world on fire? What would happen if he went to Antarctica?" 

 

"I _don't_ know Merlin, just go to sleep." Arthur says agitated and rolls over onto his side, the backs of his legs brushing Merlin's hip. 

 

Another few minutes of silence where Merlin spends the time trying to pay attention to anything else but the flowers blooming in his lungs. "How do you think the owls in Harry Potter work? Can they read the address on the envelopes--" 

 

"Mer-lin!" 

 

"Sorry... But did you know that the guy who discovers Uranus originally wanted to name it George?" 

 

Arthur snorts and then kicks at Merlin lightly. 

 

Merlin giggles to himself, rousing another mumbled "what?" from Arthur. "Can you imagine being deaf and then discovering that farts make noise?" 

 

"Shut up you idiot." 

 

"Would you read a book containing all the lies you have ever told?" 

 

"MERLIN." 

 

"Sorry... Arthur?" Merlin whispers and cringes at Arthurs harsh "WHAT?" 

 

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" 

 

Sighing, Arthur rolls back over onto his back and stares at the darkness. "I don't know Merlin, why?" 

 

"To get to the idiots house." 

 

"That's just great Merlin--" 

 

"Knock knock." 

 

Another sigh. "Who's there?" 

 

"The chicken." Bursting into a fit of giggles, Merlin shakes the bed and almost pushes Arthur out of bed as he tosses and turns. Gripping the pillow he's resting his head on, Arthur sits up on his knees and swings said pillow down onto Merlin's face. Merlin squaks sending Arthur into his own fit of laughter. Collapsing into his laugh, Arthur doubles over at the waist and topples onto Merlin. The air is snatched from Merlin's lungs with a wheeze making them laugh harder. 

 

Clearing his throat, Arthur rest his hands either side of Merlin's head and finishes watching his friend giggle at his own lame joke. Merlin's cheeks are tinged with color and his black curls are mused and fanned out across his pillow. His eyes shine with happiness and Arthur's heart clenches at the sight. Darting his eyes to Merlin's lips, Arthur swallows at the sight and quickly looks back up again. It's too easy to get lost in Merlin's lips. 

 

By this time, only small chuckles wrack Merlin's lanky frame and he's busy studying Arthur's own face. Arthur's cheeks are rosy and there's something shy and unreadable in his eyes that Merlin can't begin to try and understand because there's no way that it could be what Merlin dreams it would be. Merlin watches Arthur's Adam's apple dip in his throat and he has to look away or he'll do something he regrets. 

 

When Merlin gazes back to Arthur's face and their eyes meet they both blush deeper and give each other a small smile. There's a loose strand of hair that's fallen over Arthur's forehead and Merlin can't resist it. Reaching up with a tentative shaky hand, Merlin brushes the strand back from Arthur's face and attempts to tuck it behind his ear. It's too short to reach Arthur's ear, but Merlin continues that track with his fingers anyway, enjoying the softness of Arthur's golden hair. He stops his hand at the nape of Arthur's neck, fingers idly playing with the small curls that rest there. 

 

Arthur's breathing is ragged and his heart is beating a tattoo against his ribs. His breath hitches in his throat when Merlin raises his chin a fraction. Taking it as an invitation, Arthur tilts his head down and captures Merlin's lips with his own. His blood thrums in his veins and Merlin sighs, lifting his head to slot their lips together more firmly. 

 

Merlin's fingers tightened around the hairs at Arthur's neck. Arthur's lips were slightly chapped and when Arthur moved their mouths together, Merlin tasted his own mint toothpaste and his lips quirked up at the corners, spirring Arthur's to do the same. Their kiss broke because of their smiling, but Merlin found he didn't mind so much because they swapped warm breaths between them. 

 

"I've wanted to do that for such a long time." Merlin ghosts in the inch of space separating their mouths and Arthur's smile is a beacon in the darkness of Merlin's bedroom. 

 

"Me too," he beams back and _oh_ , they're kissing again. This time Merlin's hands are at his hips, palms dangerously close to the elastic waistband of his boxers. Arthur's still beaming when Merlin licks into his mouth and flips them so he's spooned on Arthur's chest. 

 

"How long have you wanted to do that?" Arthur asks, running his thumb along Merlin's cheek bone. Merlin's skin heats up under his thumb and he sits up, elbow crooked on Arthur's chest, eyes downcast. 

 

"Do you... Do you remember when Morgause stole my sandwiches in junior year, and you gave me half of yours?" 

 

Blinking with his mouth wide open, Arthur trailed a finger down Merlin's nose and poked the end. "That was four years ago you dolp head! We could have been _together_ all this time!" They laugh and kiss again, only stopping when Arthur yawns into Merlin's collar bone. 

 

"I guess it is time we went to sleep." Merlin mutters into Arthur's chest. Arthur hums low in his throat and lets himself relax, soon his eyelids are drooping once again and sleep fogs the corners of his mind just when Merlin pokes him in the ribs. 

 

"Arthur," comes a quiet voice from the warm weight on his chest. "Do you really think pigeons have feelings?" 

 

"MER-LIN!"


End file.
